Chris
and I started the day once again at the church, sorting and rearranging. Between us we managed to wade through all of
the shoes (me) and several boxes of
children’s clothing (Chris). Oh, and the bags of donations that showed up
the day before. In between shoes and
clothes and fielding phone calls requesting assistance of one kind or another,
we managed to clear enough space in the fellowship room to move the bulk of the
cases of water in there. It freed up
space in the worship center for, well, for worship. We do still need to whittle down all those
clothes, though. Right now they come
across as overwhelming instead of inviting to the people who come in.
And
speaking of the people who come in, we stopped our work long enough to spend
some time talking with a family who came for some help. That’s one of the unheralded factors of being
in a position to be the helper after a crisis like this one. You get to listen a lot. People’s need to tell their story is just as
pressing as their need for a blanket or a gallon of bleach or a hot meal. The husband was an ex-Mexican cartel soldier
who became a Christian and just walked away.
He said they respected him for it.
He told me, “The only thing the cartels truly fear is God. I guess they could tell God was suddenly with
me. When I told them I was leaving I
told them they could kill me or do whatever they wanted to me, but I was
leaving to follow God. And they just let
me go.” Not long after, he reconnected
with his high school sweetheart, they got married and have been together ever
since. He has undergone a liver
transplant and they are both disabled.
Now they have lost everything is Hurricane Harvey. But they are joyful and at peace. That’s one tough guy who surrendered to Jesus
and no other.
As
they were leaving a sweet Seasider couple arrived with an interesting donation. A brand new microwave, crockpot, toaster, and
coffeepot. Instant kitchen anywhere you
have access to electricity. I would
place that one as one of the most thought-through donations in a flood relief
situation that I have ever seen. Thanks
so much, guys.
Last
night we went to visit a couple who was at church on Sunday. They have a home in Sea Isle, but their
primary residence in Houston was flooded, so her Mom and Dad are living with
them in the evacuation home. They were
going after church to see the flooded houses for the first time. Chris spent some time talking with them. Several factors kicked in beyond a flooded
house and being in a different city and facing mucking out and cleaning and
rebuilding a house that they had just completed renovating. The husband has been dealing with
Alzheimer’s. Their dog is currently
staying with a relative. The elderly
parents are staying with them here as well, and their home was also flooded,
and they are experiencing some depression.
The parents’ dog is very old and seems to be on its last leg. The dog isn’t handling the stress very well,
either. So they all are experiencing the
frustration of having a place to stay that is more than an hour away from the
place they need to be working on every day.
Whew. Well, here’s the thing … We
have two canine regulars here at Seaside.
Bella and Dottie are therapy dogs who work with one of our members who
is a Christian counselor. They come to
church every Sunday as part of their training in getting used to being around
people. Well, Dottie was working Sunday
morning. Through Dottie’s calming
presence I saw that husband, noticeably relax as he continued to stroke her fur
throughout the service. Nice work,
Dottie. We all do what we can do.
1
Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on
him because he cares for you.”
Father,
thank you for Dottie and Bella and unexpected opportunities to minister. Amen.
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